Second, the swift catalyst for most investors in the vast and expanding markets and economies of the world is intellectual capital.
In which ever way you look at it, the reason why the United States is the most powerful economy in the world derives from the intellectual capital of such mega companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook/Meta, Tesla Amazon and many others.
The reason why Mark Zuckerberg — as an individual — has more financial resources than most countries and continents rests on the intellectual capital of Facebook and related corporations.
Similarly, a far-sighted, strategically-adroit Nigerian woman, Funke Opeke analyzed the trends and direction of the emerging markets and dominating economies of the world.
She could, like other astute observers, see the unrelenting rise of the vital value of data and digital infrastructure.
She attended Columbia University — for a Master’s degree. She’s an electrical engineer.
I believe it prepared Funke for a history-making week like this December — as the Chief Executive Officer of the data centre and digital infrastructure company called MainOne, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
Equinix, one of the world’s leading digital infrastructure corporations, announced on December 7, 2021, its expansion into Africa through its intended acquisition of MainOne. MainOne also operates in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. The transaction has an enterprise value of US $320 million.
She believes: “Equinix will accelerate our long-term vision to grow digital infrastructure investments across Africa. I thank our founding shareholders led by Mr. Fola Adeola, MainStreet Technologies, AFC, PAIDF, FBN, Polaris and AfDB …. With similar values and culture to what we have jointly built in 12 years, Equinix is the preferred partner for our growth journey.”
On his part, Eugene Bergen, President, EMEA, Equinix said: “Expansion in Africa has long been a strategic priority for us. With MainOne, we have found a company that not only has highly complementary data centre and connectivity assets, but can further accelerate the expansion of our business model and growth…..”
Equinix’s statement also points to the demographics advantage: “With more than 200 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and, along with Ghana, has become an established data centre hub.
Founded by Opeke in 2010, MainOne has enabled connectivity for the business community of Nigeria and now has digital infrastructure assets….”
Overall, the two corporations strongly believe that this acquisition and expansion will enable and accelerate digital transformation throughout Africa.
Dr. Nwangwu serves as Founder and Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com.
